Hillary Clinton Wins Nevada Caucuses

Hillary Clinton will win the Nevada Democratic caucuses, the Associated Press is reporting.

With 84 percent of the precincts reporting, Clinton has 52.5 percent of the vote, compared to Sen. Bernie Sanders' 47.5 percent.

"Tens of thousands of men and women with kids to raise, bills to pay, and dreams that won't die — this is your campaign," she told a crowd at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. "And it is a campaign to break down every barrier that holds you back."

This makes a second win for the former Secretary of State, along with her razor-thin win in the Iowa caucuses. Sanders, meanwhile, has one win under his belt, handing a stinging 22-point defeat to Clinton in the New Hampshire primary.

Older and nonwhite voters appear to have buoyed Clinton past Sanders, according to entrance poll data. (To be clear, entrance polls are just an estimate — these polls as reported by CNN have a total sample size of 1,024.)

By those numbers, Clinton won 74 percent of the support of voters 65 and older, as well as 61 percent among people 45 to 64. Fifty-six percent of nonwhite voters also supported her. Black voters in particular helped Clinton win: 76 percent backed her.

Those polls also suggest that Clinton did better among women, with 57 percent of their vote.

Sanders, meanwhile, continued his dominance among young voters, with entrance polls showing him winning 72 percent of 17-to-44-year-olds. That's similar to his performance in New Hampshire and Iowa, where he likewise won young voters by big margins.

And while those polls say Clinton overall got 56 percent of the nonwhite vote, those polls also suggest Sanders had a strong showing among Latinos, at 53 percent to Clinton's 45 percent, according to those polls. Latinos made up 19 percent of the electorate in Nevada.

In Clark County, with 806 of 1022 precincts reporting, Clinton led by nearly 10 points — 54.9 to 45.1 percent, according to the New York Times. That's where Las Vegas is, and is where two-thirds of the vote came from in 2008.

Sanders' five-point (at this point) loss still represents a massive improvement for him in Nevada. Just a few months ago, Sanders was behind Clinton by double digits in the Silver State.

Sanders referred to his massive gains in a statement.

"I just spoke to Secretary Clinton and congratulated her on her victory here in Nevada. I am very proud of the campaign we ran," he said. "Five weeks ago we were 25 points behind, and we ended up in a very close election."

The Democratic candidates now look to South Carolina, which will hold its Democratic primary on Feb. 27. Clinton maintains a strong lead there in recent polls, ahead by more than 20 points, according to RealClearPolitics. Just days later, they will compete in 11 states on Super Tuesday — March 1.

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